


Money for Nothing

by VotePleaseForTheLoveOfGodVote



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Canon Era, Class Differences, Friendship, I’m bad at titles and I think I’m funny, Oblivious Arthur, One Shot, let’s acknowledge it and move on, takes place sometime during the middle of series four, yes the title is just that Dire Straits song
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:55:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23251297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VotePleaseForTheLoveOfGodVote/pseuds/VotePleaseForTheLoveOfGodVote
Summary: Merlin is going about his daily routine until Arthur finds out that he hasn’t entirely been paying attention to what it is his manservant does every day. In his defense, nobody ever explained it to him.Or: Merlin is Merlin and Arthur is oblivious.
Relationships: Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 354
Collections: Our Poor Lovable Merlin





	Money for Nothing

Hours before the sun had risen over Camelot, Merlin was up and going. He splashed some water from the basin onto his face, attempting to wake himself up after less than three hours of sleep. He stoked the fire in the hopes of keeping his uncle warm and hurried out of the physician’s chambers. 

Shuffling across the courtyard towards the water pump, he bumped into Gwaine and Percival coming back from a patrol. He couldn’t help but laugh when he saw the look of pure and utter contempt for the world on Gwaine’s face. 

“Morning, Gwaine, Percival,” he said, smiling impishly. “How’d you sleep?” That earned him a scowl from Gwaine.

“Fuck off.”

“What are  _ you  _ doing up, Merlin? It’s not even dawn.”

“I’m always up around now,” he told them. “Lots to do before waking his royal pratness.”

“Do you want any help?” Percival asked, gesturing to the yoke on his shoulders. 

He shook his head. “I’m all right, thanks. Used to it. You guys should go to sleep; I can’t imagine you’ll be excused from training this morning.” Gwaine groaned. Merlin continued on his way, laughing. 

After he had retrieved two buckets of water he brought one back to Gaius’ chambers and the other to Arthur’s chambers. Quietly, he hung the bucket over the fire, glad one of the other servants had kept it going throughout the night. Arthur could be insufferable when he was chilly. Once it was heated, he poured it into the empty wash basin, careful to avoid contact with it. Though it was boiling hot now, it would be comfortably warm by the time Arthur used it. 

By now the sun was peeking over the hills in the distance and the castle was busy with groggy looking servants doing their morning chores. The kitchen was already steamy when Merlin entered, carrying an empty jug to be filled with wine. 

“Good morning, everybody,” he greeted cheerfully. “How are you all on this fine day?” That got some chuckles at least, which was the desired effect. No one was particularly happy to be awake right now and Merlin did not want to be dealing with grumpy colleagues. 

“Morning, Merlin,” Katie, one of the cook’s assistants, said. “When did you get to sleep last night? Nicolas said he saw you still up and about when he went to garderobe just after the first bell.” Her tone was disapproving. 

“Ah well, you know how it is,” he began. “I’ve still got things to do once Arthur’s in bed.” He still got the occasional unhappy look when he called the king by his first name, but the castle staff had largely given up on that front by now. 

“If you need any help you can always ask,” Christopher, another servant, said. “There’s always someone around.”

“Thanks, but I can manage.” He turned to the cook. “So, what’s on the menu this morning?” He gave her a cheeky grin and she rolled her eyes. 

“You’ll serve what I make and I won’t hear anything about it, Merlin. If the king wanted something specific you should have told me last night.”

“Nah,” he said. “I just wanted to see if it was anything worth stealing.” She smacked him jokingly with the spoon she was holding and he laughed. Merlin went over to Martha, who was filling jugs with wine and put his down next to her. “Could you do this one too, please?” 

“Sure,” she agreed. “To the top?”

“Gods no. If I have to deal with him all day then I’m watering it down.” Merlin was far from the only person in Camelot to do this. Servants had their ways of keeping their masters in check without them knowing. “How’s your father?” 

“Much better. Thank you so much, Merlin. I honestly don’t know what we would have done without your help - Gaius’ too. You’re both very generous,” she gushed. He waved her off. Merlin often offered his services as a physician’s apprentice to those without access to the castle’s physician, and Gaius was more than happy to provide him with supplies, despite the expense. The two of them knew that the cost to them affected their lives much less than the cost of another physician would affect some of the poorer people of Camelot. 

Gaius worked first and foremost for the king and the court of Camelot, and was required to prioritize the people there. With such a large number of people working and living in the castle, there was rarely any time for anyone else. It had, of course, gotten much better since Arthur was crowned. Unlike Uther, Arthur was always willing to lend out Gaius’ services to the people of the city or to send him to other parts of the kingdom when need be. The king cared about his people more than anything and helped however he could, but he was young and the nobility of the land saw him as inexperienced and untested; he couldn’t do whatever he wanted without risking their support and therefore his ability to affect real change. 

Martha’s father had been suffering from an unidentifiable illness for some time. Merlin was doing all he could to make him comfortable, but it was inevitable that he would pass on within the next few months. Somewhere deep down Martha knew that too but she refused to give up trying. Merlin couldn’t count how many nights he had spent in her house, tending to her father. And he was happy to do it, of course, but he simply didn’t have the luxury of time. Things had been easier when Gwen was around to help him.

Soon enough, it was time to wake the king. Merlin retrieved his breakfast and returned to the royal chambers, entering and locking the door behind him. These days, he was more paranoid than he used to be about unwanted guests entering Arthur’s bedchamber. At least, Gaius called it paranoia; after all the times he had had to stop someone from killing the king, Merlin called it logic.

“Good morning, sire. Let’s have you, lazy daisy.” Arthur groaned and pulled one of his ten thousand pillows over his face as Merlin opened the curtains, letting the sun in. “Come on, my lord. Breakfast is on the table and you have a council meeting in an hour.” Still nothing. “Cook made fresh bread and if you’re not going to eat then I certainly am.” 

“Merlin?” Arthur rolled over lazily and faced him. 

“Yes, my lord?”

“Do you ever think about anything other than your own stomach?”

“Hey! I’ll have you know I eat far less in a day than you nobles do.”

“No wonder you’re so bony,” Arthur commented, looking him up and down. 

“So am I always eating or am I too skinny? You can’t have it both ways.”

“On the contrary Merlin,” Arthur said as he slowly moved to sit on the edge of the bed and stretch, “I never said you were always eating only that you were always  _ thinking  _ about eating.”

“Haha very funny. Now can you please hurry up? I have things to do.” Arthur scoffed and gapped at him, as if he had just said the most offensive thing in the world. 

Half laughing, he responded, “ _ You  _ have things to do? I’m the one who has to be downstairs in less than an hour. And as far as I’m aware the  _ things _ you have to do are for me.”

“They are,” Merlin confirmed. “How long do you think it takes to get through the ridiculous list of chores you give me in a day?” Merlin argued but the king just rolled his eyes. 

“Please, Merlin. You do no more than any other servant in the household.” The king stood and went to the basin, quickly washing his face with soap. 

“Yes I do! I have double the chores that any other personal servants get from their masters, plus I do chores for Gaius, plus I have to do chores for the steward!” He thought Arthur would just laugh at him, maybe throw something and then move on, but he seemed to be genuinely concerned. 

“You do?” He asked, putting down the towel he used to dry his face, and Merlin sighed. He didn’t want to make him feel guilty. He knew that the king was under ridiculous amounts of stress and he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, so Merlin just waved him off. 

“Yeah, but it’s fine; I’m just complaining. I don’t mind most of it, although if you want to give me a raise for all my hard work I won’t complain.” 

Arthur ignored him. “Why do you work for the steward? You report to me.” He sat down at the table. 

“Yeah,” Merlin replied, nodding, “but I also report to him and to Gaius. All new servants report to the steward, regardless of whether or not they have a different master.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, idiot, you’re not a new servant; you’ve been my manservant for half a decade.”

“Well, it’s not my fault you never took me off probation,” he laughed, “but feel free to.” 

Arthur looked absolutely shocked, which was surprising. “What…what are you talking about? Probation?”

Now Merlin was confused. “Wait, are you saying you didn’t realize I was still on probation?”

“Of course I didn’t realize, you idiot! It’s been five years! Did you really think I wouldn’t have done something by now? Why the hell didn’t you say anything?”

“I thought you knew!” 

“Why? Why would I do that?”

“You’re always saying I’m a terrible servant! I figured you weren’t going to start giving me full wages until I improved.” 

“Wait.” Arthur stood. “Wait.”

“I’m waiting?”

Arthur glared. “Don’t be a wisearse right now, Merlin. What did you mean when you said you don’t make full wages?” 

“Umm…exactly what I said? Servants don’t get full pay while they’re on probation but it usually only lasts a week or two.” Arthur looked dumbstruck. It made Merlin feel guilty; he really did not want to stress him out more than he already was. “Look, let’s just forget about it, yeah? It’s not a big deal and like you said, you have to be downstairs soon.” Unfortunately, that had the opposite of the desired effect and the king looked even more distraught. 

“Merlin…I never meant to do that. I-I didn’t know. You’re the first servant I…the first one I’ve been solely responsible for. The servant I had before you, he was hired when I was eleven, so the steward was the one who took care of everything. I would never purposefully be so…so cruel.”

“It’s really fine, Arthur. I didn’t think you were being malicious. It’s not cruel,” Merlin tried to reassure him.

“It is though. You’ve been working three jobs for the last five years and I know Gaius doesn’t pay you-”

“I live with him, Arthur, and he’s my uncle. He’s not supposed to pay me.”

“I know. I’m not trying to say Gaius did anything wrong. I’m the one who screwed up. You have three jobs and you’re not even getting paid enough to compensate for one of them.”

“You’re making it seem like I’m destitute.”

“How much do you make, Merlin?” 

“That’s none of your business!” Merlin tried to look like he was offended, even though he wasn’t. Maybe he could make Arthur drop it or laugh, at the very least.

“I’m your employer. How much do you make?”

“Enough. Although, again, if you want to give me a raise I’m not going to fight you.”

“Stop it! I’m ordering you to tell me and if you don’t I’ll march down to the steward’s office right now and ask  _ him  _ instead!”

“All right! I get seven silver a fortnight. It’s more than enough to live on and send some home to my mother.” Merlin couldn’t help but be embarrassed. He hated talking about money with Arthur. He was the bloody  _ king _ . If he wanted to he could spend in a day more than Merlin made in a year. Easily. 

Once, back when he was a prince, Arthur had forgotten his coin purse when they were on an afternoon hunt. They didn’t realize until they stopped in a village for food because Arthur was hungry and was too much of a prat to just wait until they got home. He asked Merlin to pay and promised to reimburse him when they got back to the city. Merlin had had to tell him that he only had four bronze coins with him. Arthur had laughed, commenting on how unlikely it was for them to have  _ both  _ forgotten their money and Merlin had to pretend that that was what had happened. 

Admitting it was harder than it should have been. Arthur was not so delusional as to think Merlin was wealthy and he knew that. Still, he had hoped that he wouldn’t find out he was so poor. It was stupid, really. Merlin had never cared about that with anyone else and he certainly wasn’t ashamed of it. But with Arthur and the knights, it was awkward. Not so much with Elyan, Gwaine, or Percival, none of whom had ever been particularly well off until now, but with Leon and Arthur’s other knights he felt weird about it. Sometimes they would invite him to come to the tavern with him and he would have to decline because he couldn’t spare the coin. They would tease him about being a lightweight, even Arthur, who spent most of his spare time complaining about Merlin’s imaginary drinking habits. Now, standing there, watching Arthur process it, all he wanted to do was make him forget it had ever happened. 

“Seven silver?”

“Yep.”

“Merlin…”

“This is weird. You’re being weird. No one ever says someone else’s name in a conversation this much.”

“Merlin!”

“See? Weird!”

“Stop trying to avoid the topic. This is unacceptable. Starting now, you’re off probation. I’ll speak to the steward after my council meeting and tell him you’re to be given a salary befitting of a king’s manservant with several years of experience.”

“I…I don’t know what to say. You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes I do. I’ll never admit to saying this, but you’re a decent servant.”

“Wow. High praise.”

“Shut up. You’re a decent servant and you do…more than any king expects of a soldier, let alone a servant.” Merlin didn’t know what to say so he didn’t say anything. Arthur sat back down, suddenly very interested in his food. He gave up the charade after a few seconds, putting his fork down with a sigh. When he spoke next, he did not look up at Merlin. “Anyway,” Arthur cleared his throat, “I’ll talk to the steward. And you’ll get back pay.”

“No! You can’t!” 

“I can do whatever I want, Merlin, I’m the king.” 

“No, I’m serious, you can’t give me back pay.”

“Why on earth not?” Merlin thought he looked like a confused pup. He quickly went and sat down across from him. 

“If you do, it won’t end well. Giving me a raise is one thing, but what do you think the council will say if they hear you’re paying me for previous work, hmm? And they will hear about it eventually; the gossip in this city is insidious. You know most of the older lords hate me, some of the younger ones too. You need their support for more important things. You really want to waste what support you have from the more liberal councilors on this?”

“You are important,” Arthur argued, looking him sternly in the eyes. Merlin smiled and shook his head. 

“I appreciate that. And I’m not it saying it to be self-deprecating. But you and I both know that you being able to help your people takes precedence over giving me money that I’ve survived without for this long. Besides, I’ll be getting a raise either way.”

“I suppose.”

“And thank you, by the way. I…I honestly don’t know how to express my appreciation.”

“It’s less than  _ you _ deserve and your thanks for what is rightfully yours is more than  _ I  _ deserve,” Arthur said and Merlin smiled. 

“Well, we’ll just have to agree to disagree then.”

Some days, Merlin wanted to shut the world out. He felt hopeless at times. He didn’t know if magic would ever return to Camelot, if his people would ever be free. He didn’t know if Arthur would ever get the chance to see him for who he was. He didn’t know if he could fulfill his destiny, or even that it had not picked the wrong person. But Merlin believed in Arthur. He believed in the man he was and the man he would become. When they had first met, that arrogant prince who had thrown him in the dungeon would never have concerned himself with something as trivial as a servant’s wages. If this transformation could happen in just a few years, Merlin was confident that no matter what happened to him or with magic, Arthur would be the greatest king Camelot had ever known. 

And as long as he had something to believe in, it was all worth it. 

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t even know what this was but I hope you enjoyed it regardless. I also hope that everyone’s self-isolation/quarantine is going well. I’ve been using mine mostly to write. 
> 
> If you’re a reader of the other fic I’m currently writing/publishing, “Standards and Protocol (Fuck ‘Em),” then just know I’m working on it and looking at getting chapter six up in the next few days.


End file.
